I knew that most people took one look at the ink and the impossibly big and strong body it covered and decided I was a brawler…a bruiser…a beast. However, I was hardwired to be a thinker, not a fighter.

I should have chosen to use my brain and talents to be one of the good guys, a hero, a man with dignity and worth.

I turned my back on dignity and sold my soul to the highest bidder, deciding to dance with the devil, instead.

I couldn’t figure out how to help myself, so there was zero chance I knew how to save someone else.

That someone else was Noe Lee. She was the unkempt, unruly thief who was just as smart as I was and twice as street savvy. She was annoyingly adorable beneath the dirt and grime, and she was in trouble. In way over her head, I told myself it wasn’t my job to keep her from drowning. In the Point, it was sink or swim, and I wasn’t the designated lifeguard on duty.

I shut the door in her face, but now she’s gone…vanished…disappeared without a trace. It took less than a second for me to realize that I wanted her back.

When a woman comes along that melts all the frozen, hard things you’re made of; you’ll do anything you have to, to bring her home.

What you see is not always what you get…and with a man like me, what you get is more than anyone ever bargained for.

Series:

The Breaking Point

Book 2

Can be read as a standalone

Book Type:

Contemporary Romance

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Connect with Jay Crownover:

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Excerpt: Dignity
By Jay Crownover

Excerpt: Dignity

When it comes to addictive romance, Jay Crownover is one of my favorite authors to read. Her latest, DIGNITY, is the second book in The Breaking Point series—a story about seeing beyond what you perceive, and not giving up once you find something worth fighting for. Noe and Stark’s story is hitting e-readers tomorrow, but I’ve got a sneak peek for you below!

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“I let you see a lot of the baggage I carry around with me, Stark. I’m here if you ever decide you want to hand off some of yours.” I couldn’t believe I was offering to take him on, but I really wanted to. In more ways than one. Snowden Stark was the first person in forever who lingered. I was very good at shaking off anyone who seemed like they were trying to get their hooks into me. With this man, I was thoroughly caught and not doing a very good job of wiggling free.

He smirked at me and crossed his arms over his chest. I tried not to ogle the way his muscles bulged and stretched the fabric of his shirt. “I never expected you to be sweet, Noe Lee. Angry, defiant, feisty, and rude. Those I’m prepared for, but sweet is a nice surprise.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. “You haven’t given me a lot of reason to be sweet, Snowden.”

He grunted and shifted his gaze away from mine. “You’re right. I’ll have to work on that. I’m not really a guy who brings out the best in others. I’m not exactly personable.”

I slid around the edge of the counter so I was standing directly in front of him. The heat from his body radiated into mine, and it made my breath shudder. The current that pulsed between us had a life of its own as it sparked and popped with electricity that I swore I could almost see and smell.

“You’re challenging, Stark. Nothing wrong with that. The things we have to work for are the things we appreciate the most. Nothing that’s handed over without some kind of fight is worth holding onto.” I’d learned that each time I’d had to make a new life for myself. Each time it had pulled me away from everything I’d ever known. The first time, I’d had to fight to get free from the life I’d been forced into. The second time, I’d had to fight to stay free of the life I’d known. Now, I was fighting for a life that meant something, one that had value and purpose. He was going to be all kinds of effort and exertion. Something told me he was worth every single second of the effort.

“Not everyone likes a challenge.” His tone was dry but his eyes were watchful and alert. The pulse at the base of his throat leapt under his tattooed skin because he was a man and not a machine, no matter how hard he tried to fight it and cover it up.

I had to stand on my tiptoes to reach that throbbing vein. I put my fingers over the tender spot and felt his heart race as I leaned closer, eyes locked on his. He could crush me, literally and figuratively, but I trusted him not to. “I do. I thrive on tackling a challenge. The bigger, the better.”

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